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1 1 DR. FRANKLIN L. RILEY | | 


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Col. J. F. II. Claiborne 



LIFE OF COL. J. F. H. CLAIBORNE. 

By Kr.wki.ix L. Rii.kv. 1 

Col. William Claiborne, an ancestor of the subject of this 
sketch, came from the manor of Claiborne, or Cleborne, West- 
moreland, England. He settled in Virginia in the reign of Charles 
I., and was prominently connected with the history of the colony 
under that sovereign, as well as under Cromwell and Charles II. 
His spirited struggle for Kent Island won for him the title of "The 
evil genius of Maryland." 

William Claiborne, of Richmond, Va., the grandfather of Col. 
J. F. H. Claiborne, was married to Miss Mary Leigh, an aunt of 
Hon. Benjamin Watkins Leigh, United States Senator from Vir- 
ginia. Four sons were born of this union, — Gen. Ferdinand Leigh 
Claiborne, 2 father of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne; Gov. William 
Charles Cole Claiborne; 3 Dr. Thomas A. Claiborne; and the Hon. 
N. H. Claiborne, who was for twenty years a member of Congress 
from Virginia. 4 

Gen. F. L. Claiborne was connected with the army of the 
United States during the greater part of his life, and died in 1815 
from a wound received in the service. His wife was a daughter 
of Col. Anthony Hutchins, a British officer, who in 1771 obtained 
from the Crown a large tract of land near Natchez, Miss., in what 
was then West Florida. 

The eldest son by this marriage was born near Natchez, April 
24, 1807. He was named after a German officer, Baron John 



'A biographical sketch of the author of this paper will be found in God- 
speed's Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi, and in Who's 
Who in America for 1 001- 1902 and 1902-3.— Editor. 

- A sketch of Gen. Claiborne's life will be found in Claiborne's (J. F. II.) 
Mississippi as a Province, Territory and State, p. 333. ct seq. 

3 A sketch of Gov. Claiborne will be found in Ibid, p. 250. et seq. An 
account of his career as Governor of Mississippi will be found in Ibid., 
ch. XXII., and of his connection with Louisiana history in Publications of 
the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. III., pp. 247-250. 

4 Campbell's History of Virginia contains numerous references to the 

Claiborne family. 

(217) 



2 i8 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Francis Hamtramck, 5 who had served as colonel of the First regi- 
ment of United States infantry, Wayne's legion, in which the 
father had been captain and adjutant. A few years after the death 
of Gen. Claiborne his eldest son was sent to relatives in Virginia 
to be educated. Four years later he began the study of law in the 
office of his cousin, Hon. Benjamin Watkins Leigh, of Richmond. 
Having suffered shortly afterwards from a slight hemorrhage, he 
decided to return to the warmer climate of his childhood home. 
He resumed his studies in the office of Griffith & Quitman, of 
Natchez, but becoming alarmed at the condition of his health, he 
again gave up his work and went to Cuba, for the double purpose 
of regaining his physical vigor and of studying the Spanish lan- 
guage. His health rapidly improved, and six months later he was 
back in Virginia studying law in the school of Gen. Alexander 
Smythe, at Wytheville. In less than a year thereafter he com- 
pleted his course and was admitted to the bar. 

On account of his delicate constitution he abandoned his inten- 
tion of settling in Liberty, Bedford county, Va., and returned to 
Natchez. When he reached that place he found the country 
greatly excited over the second presidential contest between 
Adams and Jackson. The young lawyer, being an ardent Demo- 
crat, was drawn into the contest in behalf of Gen. Jackson. In 
compliance with a request of the Democratic executive committee 
he took temporary control of a paper which was then published in 
Natchez by the venerable Andrew Marschalk. Mr. Claiborne's 
valuable services as a writer and speaker soon attracted wide- 
spread attention, and having once entered upon a political career 
he found it difficult to extricate himself therefrom. Yielding to 
the solicitations of his friends, he became a Democratic candidate 
for the Legislature from Adams county before he had reached his 
2 ist year. He was elected for three successive terms, "each time 
by an increasing majority." In 1833 ms friends insisted upon his 
becoming a candidate for Speaker of the lower House of the 
Legislature, but he declined an election, which it is thought would 
have been well nigh unanimous, and used his influence in behalf 
of his relative, Col. Joseph Dunbar, of Jefferson county, who was 
elected without a dissenting vote. In December, 1830, Mr. Clai- 

~° A brief sketch of Baron Hamtramck will be found in Lossing's Pictorial 
Field Book of the Revolution, p. 53. 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne.— Riley. 219 

borne delivered a speech which was probably the most eloquent 
and pretentious effort made by him during his services as a mem- 
ber of the Legislature. It was in defense of a bill for the relief 
of Jefferson College, and was devoted for the most part to a dis- 
cussion of "the expediency of adopting a .system of domestic edu- 
cation, and its absolute necessity in a free government." Although 
this speech was rather ornate, it showed a depth of knowledge and 
a brilliancy of imagination seldom excelled by a young man of 
twenty-three years. The following extract therefrom will show 
the style of Mr. Claiborne's early oratorical efforts as well as the 
spirit of the speaker : 

"Where then, Sir, let me again inquire, where are you to educate your 
sons? Will you send them to the cities and colleges of the eastern States 
* * * * \Vill you drag them from their native soil, to grow up sickly 
exotics in a northern hot-house? Send them to the North and you 
change their habits; you tear away all those strong associations of child- 
hoodT those feelings and affections, that vegetate only under the parental 
roof. You give a new tendency to character, perhaps a worse destiny 
to your child ***** Sir, I do not wish to alarm parental sensi- 
bilities: but in nine cases out of ten the dissipated circle of students at 
the eastern colleges, the 'Knights of the Round Table' and the gentlemen 
of the 'fancy' are made up of the sons of southern planters, who have been 
compelled, by the parsimonious policy of their own State to send t, 
abroad and from a mistaken affection, furnish them with an allowance of 
five hundred to a thousand dollars per annum. Sobriety and industry are 
not to be expected in a youth of eighteen, suddenly removed from the 
solitude of a country residence and from the elbow chair of a father or 
mother to the company of a hundred volatile young men. who teach him 
that tutors are tyrants and disobedience a virtue. Prompted by that in- 
nate dread of control, which prevails in every breast, the temptation be 
c.o^es tco strong and he scon musters under the standard of rebellion. 
There is tco, Mr. Speaker, in all colleges, a species of vampire, thai at- 
tach themselves to t! hern youth— not like the fabulous monster, 
feeding on human blood, but equally voracious in opening tin- vein, and 
arteries of the purse. It comes in the garb ol friendship— studies the dis- 
position of its subject and whether his propensities lead him to the gam- 
bling table or to more serious meditate n • the closet, still does this 
vampire cling to its deluded victim, until it g es the last cenl r by 
some well turned trick at cards or under the more fascinating .name ot 
benevolence! Thus, sir, is it with the southern youth : 1 urned adrift from 
the quiet haven into the tempestuous seas, richly freighted, hut with no 
steersman at the helm, is it strange that they should founder along the 
the breakers?"" 

In December, 1828, Mr. Claiborne was married to Miss Martha 
Dunbar, of Dunharton, near Natchez. They had three children — 



"A copy of this pamphlet will be found in the Claiborne Historical Col- 
lection. 



220 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Annie, now Mrs. Clarence Pell, of New York ; Willis Herbert, 7 
who died from the effects of wounds received in the War between 
the States, and Martha, now Mrs. Henry Garrett, of Natchez. 

About 1833 Mr. Claiborne purchased and removed to what is 
known as the "Standley Prairie," near the present line of Holmes 
and Carroll counties. A year or two later he settled in Madison 
county. Almost immediately thereafter (1835) he was nominated 
by acclamation as a candidate for Congress by the first Demo- 
cratic convention that was ever held in the State, of which conven- 
tion he was not a member. In the canvass which followed, Mr. 
Claiborne spoke in every county of the State and in every precinct 
in some of the counties. He was elected by a large majority, but 
his colleague on the Democratic ticket, Col. B. W. Edwards, was 
defeated by Gen. David Dickson, an independent candidate. 

Mr. Claiborne was not only the youngest member of the lower 
House of Congress when he entered that body, but "the only mem- 
ber from the west of the mountan" at that time who was a native 
born citizen of that region. He prudently "held himself in the 
background" during the greater part of his first year in Con- 
gress, making his first speech late in the session. Although he 
was in ill health during this entire session, he was a daily attend- 
ant on the House, and discharged his duties with commendable 
promptness and thoroughness. 

It was through his exertions that the House was induced "in 
the expiring moments'' of this session (July 2, 1836), to pass a 
bill establishing what is now known as the Chickasaw School 
Fund. Gales & Seaton's Register of Debates in Congress con- 
tains the following suggestive comment upon this act : 

"This bill is peculiarly interesting to the people of Mississippi. It 
makes an appropriation out of the Treasury of an amount equal to 5 per 
cent, on the net proceeds of the sales of the Chickasaw lands, probably 
$30,000, and authorizes the State to locate other lands in half or quarter 
sections, or eighths, in lieu of the i6th sections neglected to be secured 
by the provisions of the treaty; and the land thus located is for the use 

7 Shortly before he was twenty-one years of age. Willis II. Claiborne 
was elected without opposition to represent Hancock county in the lower 
I louse of the Legislature. At the outbreak of the War between the 
States, he resigned his seat in the Legislature and entered the Confederate 
army as a private soldier. While in the service in Virginia he was made 
captain and major successively. He was afterward transferred to Vicks- 
lnirg, where he remained until its fall. He then served in the army of 
Georgia until the close of the war. In his last campaign he received a 
wound which ultimately resulted in his death. 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne.— Riley. 221 

of schools in the twelve counties recently organized in the Chickasaw 
cession. Alabama is alike interested, but in a smaller degree."" 

At the beginning of his second session, Col. Claiborne produced 
a profound impression upon the House by the eloquent and ef- 
fective way in which he announced the death of his colleague, the 
Hon. David Dickson. A contemporary account of this event, 
written by one of his political opponents." reads as follows: 

"He rose to discharge the painful office under evident and strong em- 
barrassment; but at last, controlling his feelings, he proceeded t<> offer 
a few unstudied and generous remarks on the character of the deceased, 
preparatory to offering the usual resolutions, but before he closed he had 
won every heart and elicited the sympathies and tears of the assembled 
multitude. Never did man effect more in so few words; never was a 
stronger feeling produced by the eloquence of the unpremeditated language 
of the heart. 

"Although nothing like effect was aimed at, the speech produced every- 
thing that could have been desired, and Mr. Claiborne was immediately 
ranked among the most eloquent orators of the House of Representatives." 

This short hut eloquent eulogy soon went "the rounds of the 
British press," and was warmly commended as "a specimen of 
refined and effective eloquence." 

The Journals of the House and the public press of the country 
give ample evidence of the character of Mr. Claiborne's services 
while a member of Congress. , \\'e are told that "he was placed 
on the Committee on Foreign Relations at a period when the 
northeastern boundary involved the question of war or peace.' - 
He was thus brought into intimate association with some of tin- 
greatest statesmen of that day. Although he was in feeble health 
during the greater part of his congressional career, his vigorous 
and eloquent speeches in "Defence of the Settlers on Public 
Land," 10 and on the "Doctrine of Contempts," 1 ' established his 
reputation as an orator and debater. 

The first of these speeches was made January 4, [837, in reply 
to the Hon. Clinton Allen, of Kentucky. Referring to it, the 
New York Evening Post, which was then edited by William Cul- 
len Bryant, says, in its issue of February _*. [837: 



"Gales and Seaton's Register of Debates in Congress, XII., 4612; 
also Congressional Globe, Vol. 111.. -i^.v-l- 

"The Washington Correspondent of the Pennsylvania Inquirer (the lead 
ing organ of tin- National Whig party), in a letter of Jan. _'.S, 1837, quoted 
from Lynch's Bench and Bar <-/' Miss., p. 526. 

'"See the Congressional Globe, Vol. [V . Appendix, pp. 87-9. 

" See [bid, pp. 2 ?) <> 8. 



• • : H^tnrical Society. 
Mississippi Historical 

222 . ^ an aWe a dvocate, 

"The cause of J-* ^SUf ^1^-?^^ t 
■ m t he Hon. Mr. C aibo™ : ol t rf the ^ order J and 

dependent, Possessing ^a tur orname nt to «»e £ deUvered upon 

rements, be bids fair to on the public doma^ Kentucky, 

^Isoeech in defence of the sot mUO n of Mr. Aug. pfQ _ 

„ , soee ch wiU doubtless just.fy, 

quoted above: planter or asso- 

■•Can the settler conie ^X^^^^VT^^^ 
dated capital? Can ^P^as^at ^^ by the decert ^ 

i «'• the lone Indian anu w c i iarn0 is track, ami tu dream of 

Sounder, as he thread gta dg^ corpse, drjms, tf 

•„g for fame ere he <««« ' oth er *«*»§" S ,£d blood, will soften 

wasted roof, and in the untroddei ^ ^ by the law 5 ^ cQm . 

iilisiiiiiil 

SffSS^SSd «S *e Messed -— < all , ^ or 

SXS^CjrtSSSffi*^ - - ius of the s ' 

been deformea uj 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne. — Riley. 223 

stamped with the crude conceptions of feudal times ; fettered with re- 
strictions dug up from sepulchred centuries. Thus your criminal code in 
this age of philosophy is founded on the precepts of Draco. The dungeon 
and the scaffold do their work as they did a thousand years ago; and the 
Promethian light of science that we hold in our hands, serves hut to show 
the skeletons of the victims shut up for debt, who have perished amid 
the death damps of your jails and your prisons. The same current runs 
through your whole system of jurisprudence ********* 
"Mr. Speaker, this is the only Government that ever speculated in the 
soil. England, when she held domain here, was prodigal in her donations. 
Spain gave away her lands. Her sons were the pioneers of this new- 
world; nor storms, nor unknown seas, nor famine, nor shipwreck, could 
deter them. On they went, in the career of high adventure. Land and 
honors were the rewards she held out to them, and their whole history 
is a series of phenomena from the outset of her great navigator to the 
downfall of her great Montezuma — the most extraordinary triumph ever 
obtained by civilized valor over physical force. Texas has pursued the 
same policy, and its wisdom is evident. If her public domain had been 
fettered with the same legal restraints to settlement that exist here, not 
five hundred of the many thousands now there would have crossed the 
Sabine. But she has invited them by liberal donations ; and when that 
soil was invaded and the flag of despotism reeking over her beautiful 
prairies, look how bravely those emigrants have rushed to her defence. 
Oh, sir, you may rifle the leaves of history for deeds of fame; you may 
search among the fallen columns and mutilated tombs of Greece and Rome, 
immortal even in their dissolution, but you will never find a cause more 
sacred, that has been more nobly maintained than the cause of Texas. 
Land of the brave and free ! refuge of the unfortunate ! home of the 
poor! Soon may thy star shine in cloudless beauty from our own loved 
banner of living glory!" 

Mr. Claiborne's speech on the "Doctrine of Contempts" was 
made on February 10, 1837, in defence of Mr. Reuben Whitney, 
who having been summoned before a select committee of the 
House appointed to investigate the management of the deposit 
banks, had not only declined to answer "a question which he con- 
sidered disrespectful and improper," but while before the com- 
mittee threw his arm behind his back," as if to draw a weapon. 
The committee hastily adjourned, and on the day following one of 
the members moved "that Whitney be arrested and brought to the 
bar of the House." As this committee was "evidently seeking to 
implicate the administration in some illegitimate transaction," the 
case appealed strongly to Mr. Claiborne, who was a staunch sup- 
porter of the principles of the party in power. 12 He moved in be- 
half of Whitney to amend by adding "and that he be allowed 
counsel when brought to the bar, should he desire it." This amend- 
ment being accepted while Mr. Claiborne was addressing the 
House, he said "it removes from this proceeding its most ob- 



11 Lynch's (James D.) Bench and Bar of Miss., page 519. 



224 Mississippi Historical Society. 

noxious feature, but I doubt, if I do not deny, the propriety of 
dragging Whitney to this bar." He then made an eloquent and 
searching inquiry into the principles involved in the question un- 
der discussion, and thereby materially aided in defeating the ulti- 
mate purpose of the committee. Among other things he said : 

"Sir, your doctrine of contempts is a dangerous doctrine, that originated 
in times unfavorable to human liberty; in those old days of privilege and 
prerogative, when the rights of the Citizen, if understood, were not de- 
fined, and when parliamentary bodies were used by kings, as instruments 
of oppression and persecution. The power of Congress to punish for 
contempts, if such a power exists at all, is not expressly conferred, but is 
incidental, and arises ex necessitatis ret. Where is the clause in the Con- 
stitution making the grant and defining a contempt? Sir, it is a con- 
structive and incidental power. The powers and privileges of Congress 
are not like those of the British Parliament, unlimited, and omnipotent; 
on the contrary they are abridged and specific. Our courts of justice 
have the power to punish for contempts ; but it is not a constructive 
power, arising out of the mere act that established them, but was con- 
ferred by a statute, restraining in its character, in 1789. * * * * 

"Whence is this prerogative derived? If from the Constitution, point 
out the clause. If conferred by the Constitution, is it not the duty of 
Congress, before resorting to it, to settle and define its boundaries, and to 
prescribe the penalties by law? But it is said to be a necessary incident 
of a legislative body, necessary to preserve its existence, and enable it to 
transact the public business. There may be some foundation for this deli- 
cate but dangerous claim to be inherent, undelegated grants, as regards 
actual contempts committed in the presence of this body and obstructing 
its operations. Such a claim may be allowed on the principle of necessity; 
but where is the necessity of the power in regard to constructive or im- 
plied contempts, and what is the limitation upon it? The moment we step 
beyond the doctrine of punishment for actual offences of this kind, we 
venture upon a terra incognita, whose boundaries have never been de- 
lineated; whose powers and extent have never been defined by any code, 
ancient or modern. Let us pause, and closely examine the tenures by 
which we claim, before we enter upon grounds so uncertain, so dangerous, 
so obnoxious to the spirit of our Government and people. It may be very 
convenient for this House to punish a citizen for an implied misdemeanor 
but the convenience of the doctrine does not grant the power. Show me, 
Sir, a case of absolute necessity to warrant the exercise of this power. 
What is the doctrine of constructive contempts? How far does it go? 
Where does it stop? * * * * * * * Can you convert this House 
into a judicial tribunal, which shall be judge, witness, accuser and prose- 
cutor, in its own case, and inflict any punishment it chooses? If so, where 
is the freedom of the citizen; where our boasted trial by jury; where 
that 'due process of law' that 'liberty' guaranteed by the Constitution? 
Carry out these undefined, discretionary doctrines, and it will demonstrate 
cither your unbounded power, or your utter impotency. Tell me not, Sir, 
of the precedents of the British Parliament. That is a body confessedly 
omnipotent. This is one of limited powers. Their claim to punish for 
offences of this nature is drawn from a system of recognized law. We 
are mere agents for the exercise of limited and specific grants; and I 
thank God that it is so. I rejoice that freedom of speech and the right 
of self-defense cannot be curtailed; that all your enactments in relation to 
these are void; that gentlemen cannot, if they would, have a legislative 
auto da fe, and burn every man for contempt who will not follow them, 
or applaud their acts." 



Life of Col. J. F. il. Claiborne. — RUey. 225 

In the latter part of this speech he contrasted the offence of Mr. 
Whitney with those of Mr. John Quincy Adams, who, as a mem- 
ber of the House, was arousing much animosity by persistently 
keeping the slavery question before that body. On this subject 
Mr. Claiborne spoke as follows: 

"Mr. Speaker, I will not impeach the great body of the people of the 
North * * * But it will be her crime, if she does not resist and 

>:ille its denationalizing strain, until it swells into a tide of blood. It 
will be her crime if she sits tamely by while her sons heave in among us 
poisoned missiles and burning tiles. Sir, in times gone by this would not 
have been allowed. One common blood cemented the broad altar of liberty 
around which we worshiped. When the iron hurricane of war swept over 
this country, our fainting banner was borne aloft amid the din of battle 
and the dusky storm by united valor. And now. when the Confederacy is 
nought to be destroyed; when the incendiary is lighting his torch, and 
the vultures of society are looking on with felon eyes — oh, now ! May the 
sainted spirits of the dead, may the holy memories of the past, inspire 
the brave and patriotic, in every quarter of the North, to rally upon the 
ramparts of the Constitution. Sir, with my hand on this heart, 1 can 
freely say that, in defence of the Union, I would shed my blood. Bui 
there are rights and institutions dearer still, part of our inheritance, 
essential 10 our existence, indispensable to our peace; and 1 should be a 
traitor and a craven to shrink from their defence. ******* 
Mr. Speaker, if this House joins the abolitionists; if you thus permit 
their avowed organ upon this floor to menace us with a future interference 
with our domestic rights, 1 warn you of the catastrophe that is at hand. 
We will abandon your councils; we will seize our arms and tear down 
the banner of the Union that floats over our heads. On you be the 
crime — on your hands the blood. But by our common ancestry, by the 
recollections of the past and the hopes of the future, by the altars of our 
holy religion, by our hundred battlefields and the bones that rest upon 
them, I implore you to retrace your steps. Sir, we are on the verge of 
a frightful crisis Will you pause to punish an obscure 

citizen, while you allow the member from Massachusetts ( Mr. Adams) 
to banquet upon the excitement he has occasioned?" 

After the death of General Dickson, Col. Samuel J. Gholson 
was chosen to fill the vacancy in Congress, defeating Gen. John 
A. Quitman in a special election. At the adjournment of the 24th 
Congress it was the intention of Col. Claiborne and Col. Gholson to 
stand for reelection at the regular election in November. But 
President Van Burcn caller! an extra session of Congress to meet 
on the first Monday in September. 1837, and in order to provide 
for the representation of the State in the lower House, Gov. Lynch 
issued a proclamation for a special election in July. Tn this 
proclamation he stated that the representatives chosen by the 
special election would serve only until the regular congressional 
election in November, ft was argued, however, by the press and 
the people generally that the governor had no authority to limil 



Mississippi Historical Society 



.• „ t„ less than the constitutional 
the terms of the representees to less ^^ ^ 

££ two years and we arc oUth « e a^ 
the persons elected under his » for the entire Congress, 

.hnission altogether ^^ esulted in the following vote : 
After a spirited contest «***£ Acee> 6i69 , 

Claiborne, 11,203; Gta son 9«» • uncomprom isingly opposed to 
As Claiborne and Gholson were u 1 ^^ wM chal 

th banking system, them right h> seaU ^ ^ first da £ 

kng ed by one of the leaders ° { < e ba P ^ ^ proc 

he extra session, on the ground tl at th e ^ ^ vmd . 

at ion issued by the governor of Mn*> «» ^ ^ re - 

This objection was overruled howev , ^ ^^ 

•erred to the Committee °" f £^ e members had bee" 

to, this committee reported that the ^ ^^ 

duly elected members of the 2 5 t Co ^ continued in the dis- 
tl seats. Messrs. <^j£gZ& the adjournment of 
charge of their dut.es in Wash n ^ November el <- 

Congress on October 16th. In the ^ Word wer e cau- 

tions were coming on and Messrs- nue m Con . 

^^ing the State. «££***£ general election, Messr, 
gress would be agam challenged _ to Mlsslssippl to 

Claiborne and Gholson we,e mclltied ^ ,. ed 

L u e their ease before the people. 1 H e _ whQ , n _ 

""a caucus of the Democrat, m mbe of ^ ^ 

sisted that they remam m jhe r seats ^ House th 

course was necessary m order to ca y same view was 

riSres outlined by the adrmm st at » n ^ 

expressed by the leading ™" ^^ hdd in November fully 
When, therefore, the regular elect' " ^^ tQ vo e , 

two-thirds of the Democratic ^ ^' repre sentatives in the 
on the ground that the SWeWUh osen^ ^ Hq , , 

25 th Congress, as had already he prentis5> I3j6sl , 

November election the vote ^ ^ 

Word, 1 2,340; Claiborne, 6,258 • p renti ss and Word 

At the opening of the next *£f )awfu , ly elect d 

presented themselves, claiming itatttey tQ seats „ ,he 

to represent the State and - f e J ^.^ on Elec . 

House. The matter was ag mjeferrc : ^ ^ ^ was 

tions, which reaffirmed its torm 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne.— Riley. 227 

under discussion in the House, Mr. Prentiss delivered his cele- 
brated speech which thrilled the House with his eloquence and 
gave him a national reputation as an orator. Under the magic 
influence of this great speech the House reversed its former act 
by which it declared that Claiborne and Gholson had been lawfully 
elected. It refused, however, to seat Prentiss and Word, and re- 
ferred the case back to the people of Mississippi. While these 
stirring events were taking place in the House, Claiborne and 
Gholson were forced to be absent on account of sickness. At the 
outset of the contest in Congress Mr. Claiborne was seized with 
a hemorrhage in the room of the Committee on Foreign Rela- 
tions, and for a period of two months lay prostrated and weak- 
ened from the loss of blood. Under the medical treatment of Dr. 
William G. Austin, later of New Orleans, he slowly recuperated 
and was finally able to return home. Acting upon the advice of 
Dr. Austin, Mr. Claiborne retired from public life and went to 
Cuba a second time for his health. At the request of his friends 
he permitted the use of his name in the political campaign which 
followed, but his former colleague, Mr. Gholson, declined to be a 
candidate. Prentiss and Word made their memorable canvass, 
speaking in every part of the State. The vote stood as follows: 
Prentiss, 12,722; Word, 12,007; Claiborne, 11,779; Davis, 10,346. 
There is little doubt that if Mr. Claiborne had been physically 
able to take an active part in this campaign he would have been 
reelected. 

The personal relations existing between Mr. Claiborne and Mr. 
Prentiss up to this time are best expressed in Mr. Claiborne's 
own language, which is as follows : 

"During all the excitement of the contested election, my relations with 
Mr. Prentiss were perfectly friendly. He visited me while I was sick in 
Washington. My acquaintance with him commenced when he was a 
stranger — young, poor and diffident — teaching school in the family of my 
relative, Mrs. Wra. B. Shields, and afterwards here, in the family of my 
wife's mother. He occupied this very office. There stood his bed. This was 
the table on which he wrote. Here are the Greek and Latin authors that 
he read. Here is a leaf of Plato turned down by him. Here in this Greek 
tragedy, his pencil marks. In both families his extraordinary genius was 
recognized and he was treated with the respect due a Professor." 

Mr. Claiborne afterwards returned to Natchez, and in July, 
1 841, became one of the editors of the Mississippi Free Trader, 
which was one of the most influential and widely circulated or- 



228 Mississippi Historical Society. 

gans of the Democratic party in the State. This change of occu- 
pations was in full harmony with his tastes. In speaking of jour- 
nalism he said : 

"It demands the seclusion of (he closet, which I have always preferred 
lo the clash and clamor of the hustings and the bar. It best comports with 
the habits of a student, and my practice of considering both sides <•• 
question and the merits as well as demerits of a party; whereas, the law- 
yer and the professional politician examine but one side of a case, and 
exert all their energies in that behalf. The journalist has a grander mis- 
sion, and if conscientiously pursued, ii i^ the highest and noblest of all 
avocations." 

His sketches entitled "Trip Through the Piney Woods" and his 
first contributions to the history of Mississippi appeared in the 
Free Trader shortly after the beginning of his connection with it. 

In J 842 Mr. Claiborne was appointed president of the Board 
of Choctaw Commissioners, which was authorized to examine and 
adjudicate the claims of the Choctaw Indians under the 14th 
article of the treaty of Dancing Rabbit. The claims under this 
article involved the possession of many thousands of acres of the 
best land that had been ceded to the government by the treaty. 
The integrity of these claims depended upon the question as to 
whether or not the Indians had disposed of them within a period 
of five years after the treaty. It was found upon investigation 
that most of the claimants had violated this term of the treat}- , 
their sworn statements before the commission to the contrary 
notwithstanding, and that companies of speculators composed of 
men of all ranks had purchased claims for a very small considera- 
tion. Mr. S. S. Prentiss was employed by the company "on a 
contingent fee of $100,000," to protect its interest before the 
commission. While sitting at Hopahka the board gave judgment 
in favor of a number of claims which were sent to Washington 
At a subsequent meeting of the commissioners in Yazoo villa 
Gen. Reuben Grant, a prominent citizen of Noxubee county, made 
charges of fraud against the claims that had been passed upon at 
a former meeting. As a result, Col. Claiborne advised the depart- 
ment to suspend all claims until they could receive further inves- 
tigation. Another meeting of the commission was announced to 
be held at Hillsborough on the third Monday in November, 184:;. 
to review its adjudication, the Hon. T. J. Word being appointed 
to act in the meantime as an agent to collect evidence relative 
thereto. 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne. — Riley. 229 

An article, containing further charges of fraud, which had been 
prepared at the request of Col. Claiborne, appeared in the Vicks- 
burg Sentinel of the 10th of November, and gave what was termed 
the plan of the speculators for effecting their purpose. 

This part of the communication reads as follows : 

"The Indians were to emigrate under the charge of John B. Forrester, 
(the United States paying $20 per head) who was to accompany them, 
and then receive the whple of their scrip, one half of which he was to re- 
tain and the other half to lay out for the Indians in goods, cattle, &c. To 
accomplish this plan, a crowd of speculators repaired to Washington, some 
going openly, others pretending that they were going to St. Louis only. 
Their object was to obtain from the War Department a confirmation of 
their suspended claims, thus forestalling the action of the board, and 
stifling the proposed investigation. They have been laboring for this 
scheme for weeks, and it is whispered, have received aid from a quarter 
from which such aid cannot come without gross corruption * * * * 

* * * Influential men, members of Congress, and others, have been 
engaged at enormous fees, to effect this nefarious design of transferring 
these questions of fraud from the tribunal established by Congress, to the 
Department at Washington, where facts have been represented by inter- 
ested persons only, and witnesses cannot have a hearing * * * * 
And after all this, these speculators covertly go to Washington — employ 
members of Congress, and seek to induce the Department to overrule the 
objections of the Board, and pass claims to an enormous amount! This 
is really monstrous ! The Hopahka claims alone, thus sought to be passed, 
over the recommendations of the Board, and in the teeth of the solemn 
protest of Col. Claiborne, amount to some 350,000 acres, as we learn * * 

************* * * 

"'We cannot believe that the Department could be so deceived. It surely 
will not stifle the investigation it itself recommended. It will hardly cut 
off Gen. Grant from a hearing, and thus facilitate the most stupendous 
fraud upon the Government and robbery of the Indians, that has ever been 
devised. It will take three millions of acres to satisfy these claims. There 
is not so much unsold land left in the country ceded by the Choctaws. The 
deficit is to be made up with scrip payable to the Indians and receivable 
at the land offices as gold and silver. Now will it be credited, that these 
speculators have, by fraud and deception, obtained from the Indians abso- 
lute deeds of conveyance for the whole of their lands, and powers of at- 
torney to receive their scrip, having given their bonds to pay over one-half 
of it to the Indians when the claim was closed ! Incredible as this may 
seem, it is nevertheless so. And all this for what? Simply for undertaking 
to attend the claim before the Commissioners, an attention, altogether su- 
perfluous, and which the Commissioners are sent to attend to themselves ; 
an attention, if necessary at all, certainly not worthy of the enormous fee 
exacted of the poor Indians — one-half their lands or scrip absolutely, and 
the control and management of the other * * * * * Report says 
that every acre of land yet patented to these Hopahka Indians, is held 
by one Forrester, who has not paid a dollar. It is said he heid 30,000 
acres ******Tf the agencies at work at Washington succeed, 
Forrester will realize half a million at once out of nothing." 

When the Commissioners met at Hillsborough, November 20th, 
1843, Mr. Prentiss appeared as counsel for certain claims and 
raised the preliminary question as to Col. Claiborne's competency 



230 Mississippi Historical Society. 

to act, contending that in consequence of the article in the Sentinel 
he had prejudged the case. On the day following Mr. Claiborne 
presented a protest against the proceedings of the former day in 
which he denied the right of anyone to question his competency or 
of his colleagues to decide such a question. Among other things 
he said that until his rights and powers should be adjudged by a 
competent tribunal he would exercise his authority and discharge 
his duties, "not only as a Commissioner and counsel for the 
Government, but a citizen of the State and as a Reporter for the 
Press, for it is my intention, over my own signature, to report the 
proceedings under this investigation, that all the aid and moral in- 
fluence of Public Opinion may be brought to bear to sustain the 
rights and interests of Government." He closed this protest by 
denying the right of any agent or attorney to challenge or dispute 
his competency or to file or enter any paper, protest or proceeding 
of any kind, affecting his competency or official conduct on the 
records of the commission. He then left the room where the 
board was in session. There was much excitement among the 
speculators and their friends, who were collected in great num- 
bers. Threats of violence and curses were freely uttered against 
Mr. Claiborne and he received notice from a number of friends, 
informing him of plots that had been made to assassinate him and 
warning him that he would appear in the streets at the peril of his 
life. On the morning of November 24th he resumed his place 
among the Commissioners, taking with him "an elaborate legal 
argument on the question of fraud to submit to the board." This 
paper was not presented, however, as it had been determined be- 
fore that time that there should be no investigation. The board 
was, therefore, adjourned "until the authorities at Washington 
could be heard from." 

Challenges to fight duels were then received by Col. Claiborne 
from Mr. Forrester and Mr. Prentiss. In his reply to the chal- 
lenge from the latter gentleman, Mr. Claiborne wrote among other 
things : 

"But whether you choose to be regarded as attorney or speculator, 1 
deny the slightest accountability to you, or any one else, for any step I 
may choose to take to protect the public interest, in the legitimate dischar^. 
of my duties. And, in resisting a combination so formidable, I feel per- 
fectly justifiable in invoking to my aid, and to the aid of the country, the 
moral influence of the tress, so far as the power and threats of your as- 
sociates have left the press free to act. A thousand frowns, and a thou- 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne. — Riley. 231 

sand challenges will not deter me from my duty, if I am permitted to 
discharge it. My blood will not acquit the parties implicated of the charge, 
nor wash out the suspicions that rest upon their transactions. Investiga- 
tion, deep, broad, searching and uninterrupted, can alone settle the point. 
Bullying, and dragooning, and even assassination will not do it." 

Referring to these experiences, Mr. Claiborne wrote as follows 
in a communication in which he reviewed the proceedings of the 
Board of Commissioners : 

"It is impossible for me to predict how many more of these agreeable 
invitations to 'coffee and pistols for two' I am to receive, but I am bound 
to believe that some of the parties concerned never intended there should 
be a formal meeting betwen Col. Forrester and myself, though they 
designed he should have all the glory of sending a challenge to a man, 
placed by their own act, in a position to forbid his acceptance. If they 
intended we should fight, on fair and equal terms, why threaten me with 
impeachment, at the moment of sending the challenge? and if they 
design to impeach why force me to fight, or distract my attention with 
challenges, until I had made preparations for denfence? They have every 
advantage. They are a band of men, associated for a gigantic speculation, 
with capitalists, lawyers, prompt and willing witnesses, and even their 
regular bullies to back them. I am an officer of Government, opposing their 
schemes, exposed to their malice, all I say or do liable to be perverted, 
and my errors magnified into crimes. Surely when there is so much dis- 
parity, the party having the advantage, should resort to no unfair means 
to quash a scrutiny or put down an adversary." 

The document from which the above extracts have been taken 
was published in pamphlet form (17 pages), and a copy of it was 
laid on the desk of every member of Congress. As a consequence, 
the speculation was crushed and those concerned therewith were 
ruined. 

A motion was then made in the lower House of Congress by 
John Bell, of Tennessee, to refer the matter to a select committee. 
As this committee would have to be appointed by the Speaker, who 
was said to be interested in the claims, Mr. Thompson, of Mis- 
sissippi, had the matter referred to the Committee on Indian Af- 
fairs, of which he was chairman. Although President Tyler 
threw his influence against Mr. Claiborne, the plan which was 
recommended by Mr. Claiborne was adopted. It was to the effect 
that the Indians should receive neither land nor money for their 
claims, but the value of their claims for removal to the West was 
funded, they being paid the interest annually. 

Mr. Prentiss and Col. Claiborne, both of whom were wrecked 
in fortune, removed to New Orleans shortly after the acrimonious 
conflict referred to above. They often met, but never spoke. A 



2T,2 sippi Historical Society. 

few days before the death of Mr. Prentiss, John J. McRea, former 
governor of Mississippi, effected a reconciliation. In speaking of 
this incident, Col. Claiborne says that he was deeply affected and 
Governor McRea wept like a child. 

Col. Claiborne admired the talent of the brilliant orator and ex- 
pressed in the latter part of his life a purpose to write a biography 
of Mr. Prentiss. Referring to the biography which had been 
written by Mr. Prentiss' brother, Mr. Claiborne says that it was 
full of error of fact and a mere travesty of his career, personal and 
political. He stated further that this book represented Mr. Pren- 
tiss "as a semi-saint and somewhat of a Puritan, to please New 
England tastes, when all knew that he was the farthest possible 
removed from saintliness and Puritanism." Col. Claiborne said 
further : 

"No man living knew S. S. Prentiss better than I did ; he crossed my 
path and I crossed his, in the last blow given to his fortune. We were 
early friends ; bitter enemies ; reconciled on the death bed." 

Upon his removal to New Orleans (1844) Mr. Claiborne as- 
sumed editorial control of the Jeffersonian, published in French 
and in English, and of the Statesman, published in German and in 
English. These arduous duties required twelve hours of work 
daily. Several years later he was induced to undertake the edi- 
torial control of the Louisiana Courier, which paper became under 
his direction one of the strongest supporters of Mr. Pierce in his 
campaign for the presidency. Mr. Pierce had been one of the 
most intimate friends of Col. Claiborne in Congress, and when he 
became president he offered Mr. Claiborne "an eligible diplomatic 
position abroad or a comfortable berth at Washington." Mr. 
Claiborne declined these kindly offers, however, desiring to make 
his home in the pine woods on the seacoast of Mississippi, where 
on the advice of Dr. Austin he had purchased a large tract of land. 
With this object in view he proposed that Alabama, Mississippi 
and Louisiana be combined into one district and that the care of 
the public timber therein should be confided to him, with an ap- 
propriate salary. As this measure met the hearty approval of the 
senators and representatives from the three States, all of whom 
were Mr. Claiborne's personal friends, it was promptly passed by 
Congress and Mr. Claiborne was appointed to fill the newly 
created office. He was reappointed by President Buchanan, who 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne.— Riley. 233 

was also his intimate friend, and continued in the discharge of his 
duties until the States that constituted his district had seceded 
from the Union. 

Soon after obtaining his appointment from President Pierce. 
Mr. Claiborne removed to a plantation which he had purchased 
near Bay St. Louis, in Hancock county, about twelve miles from 
Fort Pike, on the Rigolets. Here he engaged in the culture of Sea 
Island cotton. The salt sea breezes seem to have given him a new 
lease of life and enabled him to outlive most of his colleagues 
in Congress, who greatly excelled him in physical vigor. 

He attributed his long life to the fact that his delicate health 
compelled him to be always on his guard and to be systematic in 
his habits. While living in New Orleans he made it a rule "to go 
to bed at dark and be up with he sun." Owing to his delicate 
constitution he was never connected with any social or political 
club or fraternal order, and rarely attended places of public 
amusement. He was strictly temperate and never gambled nor 
witnessed a horse race. 

The following incidents in Col. Claiborne's first congressional 
campaign, which give an insight into his character, are here told 
in his own language : 

"On my first canvass for Congress, Governor Runnells and I were trav- 
eling together. We halted for the night at the house of a worthy Baptist, 
in Noxubee county, where there happened to be three or four clergymen. 
I had observed them in earnest consultation during the evening, and though 
all were polite to me, there was no cordiality. After supper, when the 
ladies of the household had retired, one of the preachers said : 'Col. Clai- 
borne, we are all of your way of thinking in politics, and were rejoiced to 
hear of your nomination ; but we cannot support you. We can't square 
it with our consciences to vote for a horse racer.' 

"I was speechless from astonishment, but at length protested that I had 
never owned a race-horse, and never saw a race in my life. 

"They smiled incredulously, and said there was, in the next county, a 
gentleman who had been introduced to me on the track at Natchez ; and 
won a thousand dollars on my horse; and then 'played poker with me all 
night.' 

''This was piling on the agon}', but I could only declare that I owned no 
race-horse, and never had learned a game of any kind. 

''The whole thing was a puzzle, until Governor Runnells at length said, 
'Gentlemen, there is a mistake here. I can vouch for all that my friend 
has said. But he has a brother, who is one of my aids. He is very fond 
of the turf, and keeps two or three fast horses, and will sometimes indulge 
in a game. The brothers resemble each other; own adjoining plantations, 
and one has been mistaken for the other.' 

"These good men were greatly relieved, and before we parted for the 
night they gave me a special blessing. 

"But now for the sequel. Our next appointment was for DeKalb, 
Kemper county. Parties there were pretty equally balanced, and I pro- 



234 .Mississippi Historical Society. 

posed to secure as many votes as possible from the opposition. I addressed 
myself particularly, several times and in a very complimentary way, to a 
certain rich sporting gentleman, who controlled the opposition. 1 made 
the desired impression, as I thought, and directly after my speech, he took 
me by the arm, and led me out of ear-shot of the crowd. This alone 
good for fifty votes. He then said, 'Old fellow, I saw your game, but it 
was not necessary; we are going for you, not for your d — d politics, but 
on account of your liorscs. I won a cool thousand on your Guy, the last 
race, and I hope to win five thousand the next time.' 

"I perceived the mistake, but deemed it unnecessary to explain, and 
merely said : 'Colonel, if the religious folks hear this, they will go against 
me.' 

' 'I know that.' said he, 'we all understand it, and will be mum uatil 
after the election.' Before I left DeKalb he handed me a list of turf men 
on my route of travel who were in the secret, and I always found them 
O. K." 

At the outbreak of the War between the States Col. Claiborne 
sent his wife and daughter to their relatives at Natchez, and he 
remained at home to care for his plantation. Shortly after the 
capture of Fort Pike by the United States Navy, a Federal force 
under the command of a captain visited Mr. Claiborne's home 
with orders to search the house for Confederate flags, which it 
was reported had been hoisted over the premises. After due ex- 
amination the officer declared himself satisfied. Col. Claiborne 
then replied very solemnly : 

"I confess to you, sir, that I have a flag." 

The officer said in reply: "You need not criminate yourself, but 
if you persist in this statement my orders will require me to carry 
you under arrest to the fort." 

The reply was : "You have overlooked one of my trunks and I 
wish it to be examined." 

Col. Claiborne then pointed to an old weather-worn trunk, 
marked "F. L. C, U. S. A.," which the officer then proceeded to 
search. He found it in "the regalia and insignia of a royal arch 
Mason, the epaulettes of a general officer, a silk sash, discolored 
with blood, and carefully folded tne old regiment flag of the ist 
regiment, United States Infantry, of which Gen. Claiborne had 
been captain and adjutant." Col. Claiborne then said with much 
feeling: "Sir, this is the only flag I have ever had; if you take 
me to Fort Pike, that flag must go with me." Of course neither 
the colonel nor the flag was taken to the fort. During the re- 
mainder of the war the Union troops frequently passed his prem- 
ises, but he was never disturbed, his property being carefully pro- 
tected from all spoliation. 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne. — Riley. 235 

Col. Claiborne's sectional animosities seem to have partly died 
out after his retirement from public life. He was, therefore, en- 
abled to view the great issues that brought on the "inevitable con- 
flict" in a calmer and more dispassionate light than could those 
who were directing public sentiment. He opposed the secession 
of the Southern States, and had no official connection with the 
Confederacy. We are told that he blamed both sections for the 
war, — "the North for its unconstitutional encroachments, the 
South for its precipitate action and want of statesmanship in not 
providing for the general emancipation of the slaves, thus recon- 
ciling itself to the civilization of the age and acquitting its con- 
science of a great crime." 

After the war he was regarded as one of the most conservative 
and conciliatory citizens of the State. He maintained that the 
true policy of the South was "a pronounced loyalty to the Gov- 
ernment." A united effort to build up the waste places and there- 
by to secure public order and tranquility. 13 To use his own 
words : 

"The Government of our fathers, the noblest of human wisdom, perished 
in the war. It can never be restored. We have indeed a republic — the 
grandest that ever existed — but it is sectional, not constitutional. Groat 
Britain has no written constitution but under the customs, maxims and 
traditions of a thousand years, there are sufficient bulwarks against usur- 
pation and oppression, and it is the safest government on earth. We have 
no traditions, no common low, and are controlled by universal suffrage and 
popular majorities, and subjected to the rule of the ignorant and pi 

"There is no permanent security for us but in a strong national govern- 
ment to preserve the peace, repress disorders and develop the great re- 
sources of the country. A general attempt to revive our old doctrine of 
State rights will end in the loss of the remnani that has survived the war." 

In 1869 an effort was made to induce Col. Claiborne to become 
a candidate for Congress. In reply to a letter from Capt. P. K. 
Mayers, editor of the Handsboro Democrat, he wrote as follows, 
under the date of August 10, 1869: 

"I have no disabilities to remove, but have scruples to overcome, and an 
invincible repugnance to the strife of politics. For fifteen years T have nut 
attended a political meeting. Since the surrender 1 have nol written a 
political article. It has been my misfortune, or my weakness, to differ with 
all parties tco much, to expect to be popular with either. I differ.-:, with 
the Democrats in their ill-advised and abortive attempts 1" or in- 

state government under the promptings of Andrew Johnson. I witn< id 
with regret, the gross and unaccountable blunders committed ir Leg- 

islature and Convention. I differed with them when they elected Senators 



Lynch's Bench and Bar of Mississippi. 



236 Mississippi Historical Society. 

and Representatives to Congress, certain to be rejected; when they blindly 
advised the people to vote for delegates to a Convention, after the elec- 
tion had been ordered, and thus threw the responsibility of making a con- 
stitution into the hands of their opponents, and superinduced most of our 
presenl difficulties. I differed with them in their opposition to the removal 
of political disabilities by application to Congress, and in their refusal to 
accept office— especially the appointment of Registrar— from the military 
authorities — thus compelling the commanding generals to confer commis- 
tis chiefly on strangers. I personally know that they would have given 
the preference to established citizens. 

"] differed with the Republicans in the implacable resentments they 
manifested for the vanquished; in the political superiority they desired 
to confer on an inferior race, by disfranchising a heroic people, glorious 
in their struggle for independence — more glorious in their fall. 

"I know very well that I have friends throughout the district, who re- 
member my name and my services in the past. It would be affectation to 
undervalue what I know T still retain, of old-time popularity. Rut I 
stand without a party — owing allegiance to none; in fellowship with none; 
asking favors of none; under obligations to none; and I can bring no 
strength to those who wish me to unfurl their standard." 

Before this time Col. Claiborne had become completely absorbed 
in historical investigations. Having inherited from his grand- 
father, Gen. F. L. Claiborne, his uncle, Gov. W. C. Claiborne, and 
his maternal grandfather, Col. Anthony Hutchins, all of whom 
were connected with the early history of the State, a large collec- 
tion of "time-worn papers and documents," he set himself to work 
to add thereto from all available sources. He spent much time 
collecting matter and writing a History of the Southwest, upon 
which he says he was "long engaged." Unfortunately the manu- 
script of this volume "when ready for the press" was lost "by the 
sinking of a steamer on the Mississippi." This work contained a 
memoir of Sam Dale, one of the most interesting characters in the 
early history of the Southwest, written from notes of his personal 
adventures, "taken down from his own lips," by Franklin Smith 
and Henry A. Garrett. As is usually the case with historical in- 
vestigators, having once undertaken work of this kind he was 
never afterwards able to abandon it. Although the history was 
lost and the notes were destroyed. Col. Claiborne prepared from 
memory the interesting book, entitled Life and Times of Gen, 
Sam Dale, the Mississippi Partisan, which was published by Har- 
per & Brother in i860. In the same year he also published his 
Life and Correspondence of John A. Quitman, which was issued 
in two volumes from the press of the same publishers. Unfortu- 
n; tely for Mr. Claiborne these valuable contributions to the 
biography and history of Mississippi were issued at a time when 
the public attention was absorbed by the sectional questions which 
were just then culminating in war. 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne. — Riley. 237 

Shortly alter the close of the War between the States Col. Clai- 
borne, warned by declining health, retired for the most part from 
all other pursuits and devoted his energies to the writing of a his- 
tory of Mississippi, which was the dominant ambition of the lat- 
ter part of his life. In 1870 he removed to "Dunbarton,"' his 
wife's ancestral home, situated ten miles east of Natchez. The 
vears which he had devoted to the collecting of papers, pamphlets, 
manuscripts, etc., had not been spent in vain, lie realized that 
they constituted a rich historical mine, and he began to work it 
with an energy seldom excelled by a man of his advanced years 
and physical infirmities. We are told that the great object of his 
life was not only to make a history of his native State, but to have 
it printed in and distributed from a Mississippi publishing house. 
Against the advice of friends he, therefore, delivered the manu- 
script of the first volume of his history, as soon as it was ready 
for the press, to that great publisher and journalist of Mississippi. 
Col. J. L. Power, to whose care and skill the successful execution 
of the work is largely due. In the year 1881 this book, entitled 
"Mississippi as a Province, Territory and State, with Biographical 
Notices of Eminent Citizens, by J. F. H. Claiborne, volume 1..*' 
appeared from the press of Power & Barksdale, Jackson, Miss. 

During the latter part of his life he reaped some of the fruits of 
his valuable services in the literary honors which were bestowed 
upon him at home and abroad. In 1875 he received the degree 
of LL.D. from the University of Mississippi. Five years later he 
was unanimously elected a Fellow of the Royal Plistorical Society 
of England. A few months afterwards he was invited to read a 
paper before this learned society, but was prevented from doing so 
because of ill health. In 1881 he was elected to membership in the 
Virginia Historical Society. 

By indefatigable efforts and persevering industry he completed 
the second volume of his history, which was unfortunately de- 
stroyed by the burning of his home on the night of March 2i\. 
1S84. 14 This calamity prevented the fruition of his cherished 

'The following communication relates i<> this unfortunate event: 

"'State nf Mississippi, 
"Executive Department. 
"Jackson, Miss., April 8th, [884. 
"Hon. John F. II. Claiborne, 
"Natchez, Miss. 

"Dear Sir: It affords mc pleasure to transmit to you a copy of the joint 
resolution unanimously adopted by the Legislature, expressive of our sense 



238 Mississippi Historical Society. 

hope. He was not spared to rewrite the pages upon which he had 
hestowed so much labor. His delicate constitution was unable to 
bear the shock and the grief incurred by this great loss, and he 
died at the home of his brother-in-law, William H. Dunbar, Esq., 
in Natchez, Saturday morning, May 17, 1884. He was buried 
from Trintity Church, Natchez, on the day following. 
One side of his tomb bears the following inscription : 

J. F. H. Claiborne, 

Mississippi's Historian. 

Born in Natchez, 

April 24, 1807. 

Died there 

May 17, 1884. 

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 

On the other side of the stone is written the following: 

His early life was dedicated to the service of his native State and he 
was a member of the National Congress from 1835 to 1837. 

Upon retiring from public life be devoted himself to literature and 
"touched nothing which he did not adorn." His last years were spent in 
writing History, and his work, "Mississippi as a Province, Territory and 
State," will be an enduring monument to his fame. 

Col. Claiborne was a man of striking personal appearance. He 
was as straight as an Indian and walked with a firm and rapid 
tread. Owing to the fact that he was very strongly opposed to 
having his picture taken the writer has had a good deal of trouble 

of the great loss we have sustained in common with you, in the destruc- 
tion of Dunbarton and the rare historical documents which, after years 
of industrious research, you had accumulated ; and tender you in this be- 
reavement the affectionate sympathy of oiu~ people, who still cherish grate- 
ful recollections of your distinguished services of half a century. 
"With renewed assurances of my cordial esteem, 
"I have the honor to remain 

"Your friend, truly. 

"Robert Lowry. 

"Senate Joint Resolution. 

"Resolved, by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That it has 
heard with profoundest regret of the irreparable loss which our dis- 
tinguished fellow-citizen, the Hon. J. F. H. Claiborne, has sustained and it 
recognizes that the loss to the State is even greater, as in Dunbarton was 
preserved with all of a scholar's care more of the papers, records and docu- 
ments pertaining to the history of Mississippi than is now left in existence 
elsewhere. 

"Resolved 2, That we tender to the distinguished scholar and antiquary 
thus bereft of his valuable compilations and literary accumulations, our 
sympathy, and express to him our hope that his now feeble health may be 
restored, and that he may be long spared, and by pen and word stimulate 
the youth of the land to vigorous and honorable endeavors, and may long 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne. — Riley. 239 

in getting a likeness of him to illustrate this article. In fact, the 
one here reproduced is the only picture of him in existence, and it 
is said by his daughter to be a very imperfect likeness. Having 
been once pressed to have his photograph taken, Col. Claiborne 
declined for the following reason : 

"Many years ago, being in an old mansion in Virginia, which belonged 
to a family sprung from the proudest Normans that followed the Con- 
queror into England, I missed the portraits which had once adorned the 
walls. I was told that they had been seized by the sheriff for debt, and 
tossed about and ridiculed by the vulgar crowd, and I then resolved never 
to risk subjecting my portrait to a similar indignity. In England, where 
estates are entailed, and titles of honor respected, portraits might be proper 
enough; but in this country, they are not secure for two generations." 

On one occasion he said that he had never had a portrait taken, 
and added that there would be no monument or marble over his 
remains. In commenting upon these expressions he said : 

"I will sleep better under the daisies and violets, and the only inscrip- 
tion will be FAITH. Great historical events are the proper subjects of 
commemoration. The Pyramids and the Assyrian inscriptions are the 
records of mighty nations. But any attempt to perpetuate frail mortality, 
to reverse the Supreme decree, 'dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou 
return,' by gaudy monuments and chiseled panegyrics, I consider profane. 
For myself, when I die, I invoke the charity of silence." 

Col. Claiborne had an impetuous temper and, for this reason, 
he was afraid to trust himself with arms at a time when a pistol 
or bowie knife was considered as an almost necessary part of the 
drass of every gentleman. He said, however, that when he was 

continue to shed lustre upon the name of Mississippi. That these resolu- 
tions be communicated by His Excellency to the Hon. J. F. H. Claiborne." 

Col. Claiborne's reply is as follows : 

"Natchez, Miss, April 12, 1884. 
"His Excellency Gov. Lowry. 

"I acknowledge the receipt of your communication covering the joint 
resolution of the two branches of the Mississippi Legislature. I am at a 
loss for words to say how deeply you have touched my sensibilities by your 
kind expressions and generous sentiments. Your lifetime friend from 
your early boyhood, you are familiar with my whole career and all its 
vicissitudes, and such a testimonial is above all price. 

"My gratitude to the Legislature, my appreciation of its sympathy in the 
misfortunes that have lately befallen me, and the high estimate they have 
placed on my humble efforts to serve my native State, cannot be expressed. 
Your letter and their resolution will be my monument, and will be pre- 
served as long as one of my family survives. 

"With great respect, your friend and servant, 

"J. F. H. Claiborne." 



240 .Mississippi Historical Society. 

in the habit of traveling on the wetsern steamboats, where "snag- 
ging and explosion" were the rule, he carried a cord, a little 
brandy and a bowic knife. The cord was intended to enable him 
to make a float, the brandy to sustain him in the water and the 
bowie knife to protect him and his craft against some strong man 
who might attempt to take it from him. He never carried arms on 
any other occasion. 

Fortunately for posterity. Col. Claiborne had in 1882 presented 
his invaluable collection of historical papers to the State, and thev 
thus escaped the flames which consumed his home. In tender- 
ing to the State these valuable sources of history, Col. Claiborne 
wrote to Gov. Lowry as follows : 

"Age, infirmity and the necessities of every day life are pressing heavily 
upon me, and I cannot hope to utilize what I have gathered with so much 
labor and hoarded as so much treasure." 

He therefore intrusted these papers to the State he loved so well 
and had served so faithfully, with a hope that some young Missis- 
sippian who shared the pride he had cherished for the State would 
be encouraged by the help of these documents to do the work his 
own failing powers had prevented his doing. The Legislature 
in a set of resolutions offered by Mr. Howry, member of the lower 
House from Lafayette county, voted to accept the generous dona- 
tion and to place the papers in the custody of the University of 
Mississippi. They are now in the library of that institution and 
are carefully protected against all injury. In commenting upon 
this generous act of Col. Claiborne, the Clarion says: 



"Mississippi, rich as she is in illustrious sons, can boast none who have 
loved her with a more devoted and unselfish heart than the illustrious his- 
torian, statesman and patriot to whose grateful care she is indebted for 
this precious contribution to her historical treasury." 

The importance of Col. Claiborne's history entitles it to some- 
thing more than a passing comment. As is indicated by the title, 
this book consists principally of two parts : — a narrative history of 
the State from the earliest times to the close of the Creek War 
and a series of biographical sketches of prominent citizens of the 
State. 

The last two chapters of the work are devoted to the jurispru- 
dence of the Territory and State and the Indians of Mississippi. 
There is an appendix which bears the title "Natchez and the 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne— Riloy. 241 

Olden Times.'' In his introduction Col. Claiborne states that in 
writing the book he was not "prompted by a desire for fame or 
profit, but to preserve the time-worn papers and documents" con- 
fided to him by those who had long since passed away. He also 
states that he did the work "in declining health, in pain and suffer- 
ing" and expresses a hope that he might "plead for many imper- 
fections." 

Notwithstanding his efforts to record an impartial narrative 
of events and to present correct estimates of men, he did not 
always succeed, particularly in the latter undertaking. 

That part of Colonel Claiborne's history which deals with the 
career of his maternal grandfather, Col. Anthony Hutchins, who 
became a leader of one of the factions into which the district of 
Natchez was divided, is not entirely free from partisan bias. A 
few of these mistakes are as follows: — On page 176 Col. Claiborne 
states that a certain memorial prepared and sent by Col. Anthony 
Hutchins to the Secretary of State contained recommendations 
which were "all in due time successful, and have shaped and col- 
ored the policy of the Territory and the State." He also state- 
that the men who defended and supported this memorial "won the 
ear of Congress and the confidence of the government." An im- 
partial investigation will reveal the fact that Col. Claiborne placed 
too high an estimate upon Col. Hutchins' memorial, and that the 
opposing faction really won the ear of Congress. 

In another place Col. Claiborne incorrectly charges the delay of 
the Spaniards in surrendering the posts on the Mississippi north 
of the 31st degree to the action of Maj. Andrew Ellicott, while 
as a matter of fact procrastination was only in keeping with the 
historic policy of the Spanish nation. 

On page 205 of his history Col. Claiborne makes a serious mis- 
take in his conclusion that the opposition to Gov. Sargent was 
entirely personal. In making this statement the writer ignored 
the imporant fact that party lines were then closely drawn and 
that the Republicans of the State resented the presence of a Gov- 
ernor, who was not only a New Englander, but an ardent Fed- 
eralist. 

Colonel Claiborne also charges (page 209) Sargent and two 
of his territorial judges. Tilton and McGuire, with framing the 
code of territorial laws against which the citizens of Mississippi 

16 



242 Mississippi Historical Society. 

protested so vigorously. As a matter of fact Judge Bruin's name 
was signed to many of them which are still in existence in manu- 
script form. 

Historical writers of the present time have frequently expressed 
surprise over the estimate which Colonel Claiborne placed upon 
the character of General Wilkinson. There are no facts con- 
tained in the Claiborne collection which would lead to any other 
conclusion than that formed by Col. Claiborne. Subsequent 
investigation has thrown more light upon this subject, however, 
and Colonel Claiborne's conclusions are generally rejected. 

Col. Claiborne has doubtless done a greater injustice to the life 
and character of George Poindexter than to that of any other sub- 
ject of his numerous biographical sketches. There is no doubt 
but that in writing this chapter Col. Claiborne tried to do full 
justice to the career of his former antagonist, but the spirit of 
vindictiveness seems to have returned to him as he recorded with 
vitriolic pen the last page (414) of this sketch. The following 
extract, dealing with the closing scenes of Poindexters life, will 
suffice to illustrate this point : 

"His countenance had assumed a harsh, suspicious and cynical expres- 
sion, and his heart, could it have been revealed, was doubtless a whited 
sepulcher of dead men's bones. He had contracted the habit of looking 
frequently over his left shoulder, as though he heard unexpected and un- 
welcome footsteps. Were these spectres of a guilty conscience? The vis- 
ion of an innocent wife blighted in her youth and beauty by his shameful 
suspicions; of a son driven from his household to live the life of a vaga- 
bond and die the death of a pauper — of bloody feuds — of friendships sev- 
ered — of faith and covenant sacrificed for gold — all these doubtless came 
like chiding ghosts, to embitter and disturb his last days. Neither the 
rattle of dice, the lucky run of cards nor the jests and jibes of low asso- 
ciates brought a smile to his lips. His licentious eye, glazed and frozen, 
knew not the luxury of a tear. In the largest crowds, amidst the ribaldry 
and revelry, he felt the solitude and the torments of Prometheus — chained 
to the rock of his remorse." 

Col. Claiborne's mistakes in recording the facts connected with 
the history of the Indians of Mississippi are numerous. This 
doubtless arises from the fact that in order to add to the effective- 
ness of his style he put into the mouths of Indian heroes the 
thoughts of his own mind. Among the mistakes of this kind are 
the speeches of Tecumseh and Push-ma-ta-ha (page 487). 15 

Notwithstanding the blemishes, which must characterize all pi- 

10 See Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. I., pages 
101-103. 



Life of Col. J. F. H. Claiborne. — Riley. 243 

oneer historical efforts, Col. Claiborne is entitled to the honor of 
being the greatest writer of Mississippi history. His valuable 
work must still be considered the basis upon which rests 
the early history of the State, and while we are adding other 
stories to this great edifice, let us not forget to honor the memory 
of him who laid its foundations, broad and deep. 

The permanent results of Col. Claiborne's life work may be 
briefly summarized as follows : 

1. He procured the passage through the lower House of Con- 
gress of a bill establishing the Chickasaw School Fund of Missis- 
sippi. 

2. He protected the State, the General Government, and the 
Choctaw Indians against speculators, thereby saving a vast area 
of the public domain. 

3. He protected for many years against depredators the valuable 
timber resources of a large part of the gulf coast. 

4. He made valuable contributions to Mississippi biography. 

5. He wrote the most complete account of the early history of 
Mississippi, and gave a coloring to all subsequent histories of the 
State. 

6. He collected, preserved and transmitted to posterity a large 
number of historical manuscripts of inestimable value. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE. 

The Claiborne Historical Collection contains three hundred and twelve 
manuscript letters which were sent to Col. J. F. H. Claiborne by men in pub- 
lic and private life during his long and eventful career. It also contains sev- 
eral printed speeches, circulars and historical monographs which were 
written by Mr. Claiborne and several bound copies of newspapers, which 
were edited by him. A complete catalogue of this collection will be found 
in the "Report of the Mississippi Historical Commission" (Publications of 
the Mississippi Historical Soceity, Vol. V., pp. 203-227). 

An interesting sketch of Col. Claiborne's life which was published in the 
West Feint News in 1880 and several other clippings which relate to his 
life and services are now in the possession of his daughter, Mrs. Henry A. 
Garrett, of Natchez, Miss. The only existing photograph of Col. Clai- 
borne, from which the accompanying illustration is taken, is also in her 
possession. Mrs. Garrett also has the following documents that relate to 
the public career of Col. Claiborne: 

1. Memorial of J. F. H. Claiborne to the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives of the United States relative to the Choctaw Claims, — Feb. 19, 
1844. 

2. Copy of Mississippi Free Trader of Sept. 16, 1843, containing a full 
account of the origin and history of the Choctaw Claims. 

3. A circular letter issued by Col. Claiborne on May 5th, 1845, relative 
to the timber on the public lands on the sea coast to Louisiana, Mississippi 
and Alabama. 



244 Mississippi Historical Society. 

4. A copy of DeBow's Review of October, i860, containing a brief noi 
of Col. Claiborne. 

The Journals of the House and Gales and Scaton's Register and Benton's 
Abridgements afford ample information with reference to Col. Claiborne's 
services in Congress. 

The Mississippi Historical Society has a valuable letter which was writ- 
ten by Col. Claiborne to Maj. VVm. T. Lewis, on Sept. 15, 1857. It con 
tains a sketch of the- Claiborne family. 

The library of the University of Mississippi contains bound volumes 
• ii" the Louisiana Statesman and the Mississippi free Trader, both of which 
were edited by Col. Claiborne. 

Lynch's Bench and Bar of Mississippi (pp. 516-529) and Goodspeed's 
Memoirs of Mississippi (Vol. I., pp. 544-546) give biographical sketches of 
Col. Claiborne. 

The Publications of the M ississippi Historical Society contain several 
interesting references to Col. Claiborne. 

A bibliography of Col. Claiborne's published books and pamphlets will 
be found in Owen's Bibliography of Mississippi. 

The following are the most important published contributions from the 
pen of Col. Claiborne : 

1. Trip through the Piney Woods (a series of sketches published in the 
Mississippi Free Trader in 1841). 

2. Life and Times of Gen. Sa)ii Dale, the Mississippi Partisan (illus- 
trated by John MI, man and published by Harper & Brothers, New York, 
i860, 12 mo., pp. 233). 

3. Life and Correspondence of John A. Quitman. Major General U. S. 
A. and Governor of the State of Mississippi (published by Harper & 
Brothers, 8 vo.. Vol. I., pp. 400; Vol. II. , pp. 392). 

4. Mississippi as a Province. Territory, and State, Volume I., (published 
by Power and Barksdale. Jackson. Miss, 1880, 8 vo., pp. xxii+545). 

5. Historical Account of Hancock County and the Sea Board of Mis- 
sissippi (Hopkin's Printing Office, New Orleans, 1876, 8 vo., pp. 16). 

6. Interesting Centennial Reminiscences (in the Natchez Democrat, 
Centennial Edition, 1876). 

7. SketcJi of Sir William Dunbar (published in the Natchez Democrat of 
Sept. 1, 1873). 

8. The Pine District of Mississippi (published in the Weekly Clarion, 
Jackson, Miss., Dec. 27. 1876). 

9. Memorial of J. F. H. Claiborne to the Congress of the United State- 
relative to the Choctaw Claims, Feb. 14, 1844, 8 vo., 6 pages. 

10. Proceedings of the Board of Choctaw Commissioners ("Col. Clai- 
borne's Statement." Natchez, Miss., Nov. 30, 1843, 8 vo., 17 pages), 
veteran neighboring. 

11. Sketch of Harvey's Scouts (published partly in the Clarion, Jack- 
son, and in the East Mississippi Times, Starkvillc). 



PUBLICATIONS OF THE MISSISSIPPI HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Contents of Volume I. 

I. Mississippi's "Backwoods Poet," by Prof. Dabney Lipscomb. 2. Mis- 
sissippi as a Field for the Student of Literature, by Prof. W. L. Weber. 
3. Suffrage in Mississippi, by Hon. R. H. Thompson. 4. Spanish Policy 
in Mississippi after the Treaty of San Lorenzo, by Franklin L. Riley. 5. 
Time and Place Relations in History with some Mississippi and Louisiana 
Applications, by Prof. Henry E. Chambers. 6. The Study and Teaching 
of History, by Prof. Herbert B. Adams. 7. Some Facts in the Early His- 
tory of Mississippi, by Prof. R. W. Jones. 8. Prehistoric Jasper Orna- 
ments in Mississippi, by Chan. R. B. Fulton. 9. Suggestions to Local 
Historians, by Prof. Franklin L. Riley. 10. Some Inaccuracies in Clai- 
borne's History in Regard to Tecumseh, by H. S. Halbert. II. Did Jones 
County Secede? by Prof. A. L. Bondurant. 12. Index. 

Contents of Volume II. 

1. The Historical Element in Recent Southern Literature, by Prof. C. 
Alphonso Smith. 2. Irwin Russell— First Fruits of the Southern Ro- 
mantic Movement, by Prof W. L. Weber. 3- William Ward, a Missis- 
sippi Poet Entitled to Distinction, by Prof. Dabney Lipscomb. 4. Sher- 
wood Bonner, Her Life and Place in the Literature of the South, by Prof. 
A. L. Bondurant. 5. "The Daughter of the Confederacy," Her Life, 
Character and Writings, by Prof. C. C. Ferrell. 6. Sir William Dunbar, 
the Pioneer Scientist of Mississippi, by Prof. Franklin L. Riley. 7. His- 
tory of Taxation in Mississippi, by Prof. C. H. Brough. 8. Territorial 
Growth of Mississippi, by Prof. J. M. White. 9. The Early Slave Laws 
of Mississippi, by Alfred H. Stone, Esq. 10. Federal Courts, Judges, At- 
torneys and Marshals of Mississippi, by T. M. Owen, Esq. 11. Running 
Mississippi's South Line, by Peter J. Hamilton, Esq. 12. Elizabeth Female 
Academy— The Mother of Female Colleges, by Bishop Chas. B. Galloway. 
13. Early History of Jefferson College, by Mr. J. K. Morrison. 14. The 
Rise and Fall of Negro Rule in Mississippi, by Dunbar Rowland, Esq. 15. 
Glimpses of the Past, by Mrs. H. D. Bell. 16. Historic Adams County, by 
Gerard C. Brandon, Esq. 17. The Historical Opportunity of Mississippi, 
by Prof. R. W. Jones. 18. Nanih Waiya, the Sacred Mound of the Choc- 
taws, by H. S. Halbert, Esq. 19. Index. 

Contents of Volume III. 

I. Report of the Proceedings of the Third Annual Meeting. 2. The 
Campaign of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1863— from April 15th to and 
Including the Battle of Champion Hills, or Baker's Creek, May 16th, 1863, 
by Gen. Stephen D. Lee. 3. Siege of Vicksburg, by Gen. Stephen D. Lee. 
4. The Black and Tan Convention, by Col. J. L. Power. 5. Plantation 
Life in Mississippi before the War, by Dunbar Rowland, Esq. 6. Private 
Letters of Mrs. Humphreys, Written Immediately before and after the 
Ejectment of Her Husband from the Executive Mansion, by Mrs. Lizzie 
George Henderson. 7. Importance of the Local History of the Civil War, 
by Mrs. Josie F. Cappleman. 8. William C. Falkner, Novelist, by Prof. 
A. L. Bondurant. 9. James D. Lynch, Poet Laureate of the World's 
Columbian Exposition, by Prof. Dabney Lipscomb. 10. Bishop Otey as 
Provisional Bishop of Mississippi, by Rev. Arthur Howard Noll. II. 
Richard Curtis in the Country of the Natchez, by Rev. Chas. H. Otkln. 



12. The Making of a State, by Miss Mary V. Duval. 13. Location of the 
Boundaries of Mississippi, by Franklin L. Riley, Ph. D. 14. Report of 
Sir William Dunbar to the Spanish Government, at the Conclusion of His 
Services in Locating and Surveying the Thirty-first Degree of Latitude. 
15. A Historical Outline of the Geological and Agricultural Survey of the 
State of Mississippi, by Eugene W. Hilgard, Ph. D. 16. History of the 
Application of Science to Industry in Mississippi, by A. M. Muckenfuss. 
Ph. D. 17. William Charles Cole Claiborne, by Prof. H. E. Chambers. 18. 
Transition from Spanish to American Control in Mississippi, by Franklin 
L. Riley, Ph. D. 19. Grenada and Neighboring Towns in the 30's, by 
Capt. L. Lake. 20. History of Banking in Mississippi, by Chas. H. Brough, 
Ph. D. 21. Origin and Location of the A. & M. College of Mississippi, 
by Prof. J. M. White. 22. Funeral Customs of the Choctaws, by Mr. H. 
S. Halbert. 23. Danville's Map of East Mississippi, by Mr. H. S. Halbert. 
24. Index. 

Contents of Volume IV. 

1. Report of the Annual Meeting, April 18-19, 1901, by Dr. Franklin L. 
Riley. 2. Campaign of Generals Grant and Sherman against Vicksburg 
in December, 1862, and January 1st and 2nd, 1863, known as the "Chicka- 
saw Bayou Campaign," by Gen. Stephen D. Lee. 3. Sherman's Meridian 
Expedition from Vicksburg to Meridian, February 3rd to March 6th, 1863, 
by Gen. Stephen D. Lee. 4. Capture of Holly Springs, December 20, 1862, 
by Prof. J. G. Deupree. 5. Battle of Corinth and Subsequent Retreat, 
by Col. James Gordon. 6. Work of the United Daughters of the Con- 
federacy, by Mrs. Albert G. Weems. 7. Local Incidents of the War be- 
tween the States, by Mrs. Josie Frazee Cappleman. 8. The First Struggle 
over Secession in Mississippi, by Mr. Jas. W. Garner. 9. Reconstruc- 
tion in East and Southeast Mississippi, by Capt. W. H. Hardy. 10. Legal 
Status of Slaves in Mississippi before the War, by W. W. Magruder, Esq. 
11. Mississippi's Constitution and Statutes in Reference to Freedmen and 
Their Alleged Relation to the Reconstruction Acts and War Amendments, 
by A. H. Stone, Esq. 12. History of Millsaps College, by Pres. W. B. 
Murrah. 13. Lorenzo Dow in Mississippi, by Bishop C. B. Galloway. 14. 
Early Beginnings of Baptists in Mississippi, by Rev. Z. T. Leavell. 15. 
Importance of Archaeology, by Peter J. Hamilton, Esq. 16. The Choctaw 
Creation Legend, by H. S. Halbert, Esq. 17. Last Indian Council on the 
Noxubee, by H. S. Halbert, Esq. 18. The Real Philip Nolan, by Rev. 
Edward Everett Hale. 19. Letter from George Poindexter to Felix 
Huston, Esq. 20. The History of a County, by Mrs. Helen D. Bell. 21. 
Recollections of Pioneer Life in Mississippi, by Miss Mary J. Welsh. 22. 
Political and Parliamentary Orators and Oratory in Mississippi, by Dunbar 
Rowland, Esq. 23. The Chevalier Bayard of Mississippi,— Edward Cary 
Walthall, by Miss Mary Duval. 24. Life of Gen. John A. Quitman, by 
Mrs. Rosalie Q. Duncan. 25. T. A. S. Adams, Poet, Educator and Pulpit 
Orator, by Prof. Dabney Lipscomb. 26. Influence of the Mississippi River 
upon the Early Settlement of Its Valley, by Richard B. Houghton, Esq. 
27. The Mississippi Panic of 1813, by Col. J. A. Watkins. 28. Union and 
Planter's Bank Bonds, by Judge J. A. P. Campbell. 29. Index. 

Contents of Volume V. 

1. Administrative Report of the Mississippi Historical Commission. 2. 
An Account of Manuscripts, Papers and Documents Pertaining to Mis- 
sissippi in Public Repositories beyond the State. (1) Foreign Archives, 
by Peter J. Hamiltotn, Esq. (2) Federal Archives, by Thomas M. Owen, 
Esq. (3) State Archives, by Franklin L. Riley, Ph. D. (4) Libraries and 
Societies, by Prof. James M. White. 3- An Account of Manuscripts, 
Papers, and Documents in Public Repositories within the State of . Mis- 



sissippi. (i) State Offices, by Franklin L. Riley, Ph. D. 2) County 
Offices, by Prof. James M. White and Franklin L Riley, Ph. Dp) 
Municipal Offices, by Prof. James M. White and Frankhn L. Riley, 
Ph D. (4) Federal Offices, by Franklin L. Riley, Ph. D. (5) 
Educational Institutions. (6) Church Organizations. (7) Professional, 
Literary and Industrial Organizations, by Prof James M. White, y» 
Benevolent and Miscellaneous Associations. (9) Lffiranes and Societies 
by Prof. James M. White and Franklin L. Rdey, Ph. D. 4- A " A £ cou " 
of Manuscripts, Papers and Documents in Private Hands. CD i'apcis 
of Prominent Mississippians, by Prof. James M White. (2) Private 
Collectors and Students, by Franklin L. Riley, Ph. D (3) Newspaper. 
(4) War Records. 5- Aboriginal and Indian History. (1) Published Ac- 
counts of Prehistoric Remains, by Mr. H, S, Halbert and Cap -A. J. 
Brown. (2) Small Indian Tribes of Mississippi, by Mr. H S. Halbert. 6. 
Points and Places of Historic Interest in Mississippi. (1) Extinct towns 
and Villages of Mississippi, by Franklin L. Riley, Ph. D. (2) Battlefields. 
7. Index. 

Contents of Volume VI. 

1 Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Historical 
Society, by Dr. Franklin L. Riley. 2. Report of the Secretary and Treas- 
urer, 1898-1902, by Dr. Franklin L. Riley. 3- Battle of Brice s Cross Roads 
by Gen Stephen D. Lee. 4. Battle of Harrisburg or Tupelo, by General 
Stephen D. Lee. 5- The Clinton Riot, by Dr. Charles Hillman Brough. 
6 Conference between Gen. George and Gov Ames by H ° n n Fra , nk J ' 1 "- 
ston. 7. Mississippi's First Constitution and Its Makers by Dunbar Row- 
land, Esq. 8. Secession of i860, by Judge Thomas H. Woods. 9. Causes 
and Events That Led to the Calling of the Constitutional Convention of 
1890, by Judge S. S. Calhoon. 10. History of the measures Submitted to 
the Committee on Penitentiary in the Constitutional Convention of 1890, 
by Hon J. H. Jones. II. History of the Measures Submitted to the Com- 
mittee on Elective Franchise, Apportionment, and Elections in the Consti- 
Uiional Convention of 1890, by Hon. J. S. McNeilly. 12 Suffrage and 
Re ons ruction in Mississippi, by Hon. Frank Johnston. 13. .Some Historic 
Homes in Mississippi, by Mrs. N. D. Deupree. 14. Early Times in Wayne 
County by Hon. T M. Wilkins. 15. Industrial Mississippi in he Light of 
the Twelfth Census by Dr. A. M. Muckenfuss. 16. The Mississippi River 
and The Effort to Confine It in Its Channel, by Maj.Wm. Dunbar Jenkins. 
17 Ori-m of the Pacific Railroads, and Especially of the Southern Pacific, 
by Hon Edward Mayes. 18. The Origin of Certain Place Names m the 
State of Mississippi, by Mr. Henry Gannett. 19. The Catholic Church 
hi Miss ssippi DuHng Colonial Times, by Rev. B J Bekkers. 20. Robert 
J WalkS by Geo. J Leftwich, Esq. 21. Story of the Treaty of Dancing 
Rabbit by Mr. H. S. Halbert. 22. The Yowanne, or Hiowanni Indian,, 
by Peter J Hamilton, Esq. 23. Location and Description of Emmaus 
Misfion b y Mr. John H. Evans. 24. Bernard Romans' Map of 1772, by 
Mr H S Halbert. 25. Antiquities of Newton County, by Capt A. J. 
Brown.' 26. Route of DeSoto's Expedition from Tahepacana to Huhasene, 
by Prof. T. H. Lewis. 27. Report of the Department of Archives and His- 
tory, by Dunbar Rowland, Esq. 28. Index. 

Contents of Volume VII. 

1 Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Historical 
Society by Dr g F° rank lin L. Riley. 2. The Rank and File at Vicksburg 
bv Si J H Jones. 3. A Mississippi Brigade in the Last Days of the 
Confederacy by Hon. J S. McNeilly. 4- Yazoo County in the Civil War, 
b7 Judge Robert Bowman. 5 - Johnson's Division in. the Batt e of Frank in, 
by Gen Stephen D. Lee. 6. Reminiscences of Service with the First Mis- 



sissippi Cavalry, by Prof. J. G. Deupree. 7- Makeshifts of the War be- 
tween the States, by Miss Mary J. Welsh. 8. Reconstruction in Yazoo 
County, by Judge Robert Bowman. 9. Recollections of Reconstruction in 
East and Southeast Mississippi, by Capt. W. H. Hardy. 10. Life of Col. 
Felix Labauve, by Dr. P. H. Saunders. II. Life of Greenwood LeFlore, 
by Mrs. N. D. Deupree. 12. Thomas Griffin— a Boanerges of the Early 
Southwest, by Bishop Chas. B. Galloway. 13- Lafayette Rupert Hamber- 
lin, Dramatic Reader and Poet, by Prof. P. H. Eager. 14. Life of Col. 
J. F. H. Claiborne, by Dr. Franklin L. Riley. 15. Senatorial Career of 
J Z George, by Dr. James W. Garner. 16. Cotton Gin Port and Gaines' 
Trace, by Geo. J. Leftwich. 17. The Cholera in 1849, by Maj. Wm. Dun- 
bar Jenkins. 18. Historic Clinton, by Dr. Charles Hillman Brough. 19. 
LaCache, by Rev. Ira M. Boswell. 20. Some Historic Homes in Missis- 
sippi, by Mrs. N. D. Deupree. 21. Location and Description of the Six 
Towns Mission Station in Jasper County, by Capt. A. J. Brown. 22. 
Lowndes County, Its Antiquities and Pioneer Settlers, by Col. Wm. A. 
Love 23. Mingo Moshulitubbee's Prairie Villages, by Col. Wm. Love. 
24. Origin of Mashulaville, by Mr. H. S. Halbert. 25. The Chroniclers 
of DeSoto's Expedition, by Prof. T. H. Lewis. 26. British West Florida, 
by Peter J. Hamilton, Esq. 27. The Floods of the Mississippi, by John 
W. Monette. 28. Navigation and Commerce on the Mississippi, by John 
W. Monette. 29. Index. 



Volumes I. and II., neatly bound together in cloth (360 pages) will 
be sent, charges collect, to any address on receipt of $3.00. This 
edition is limited. A few copies of Volume I. (no pages), unbound, may 
be purchased for $1.00 each. Volume II. (250 pages), in separate binding, 
is no longer on sale. Volumes III. (380 pages), IV. (508 pages), V. 
(394 pages), VI. (568 pages) and VII. (542 pages), bound in cloth, 
will be sent to any express address, charges prepaid, for $2.00 each. 

All persons interested in advancing the cause of Mississippi history are 
eligible to membership in the Society. There is no initiation fee. The 
only cost to members is, annual dues, $2.00, or life dues, $30.00. Members 
receive all publications during their connection with the Society free of 
charge. 



Address all communications to 



FRANKLIN L. RILEY, 
Secretary and Treasurer, 
University, Mississippi. 



«,2? flRY ° F CONGRESS 



11 836 719 4 




